Thanks for visiting my website.  It has lists of (and some links to) my publications and presentations, resources for teaching Spanish to heritage speakers, and information about the Language in Context Resource Group that I co-direct at in the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies in the School of Literatures, Cultural Studies, and Linguistics at the University of Illinios at Chicago.  

La enseñanza de la lengua española en los Estados Unidos

Wednesday, November 20th 2013

The Instituto Cervantes has created a marvellous website where they've uploaded numerous video conferences about various issues related to the teaching of Spanish.  My discussion with Dr. Ofelia García about teaching Spanish in the U.S. is available at the link below.

 

 

Alternate Video Link: 
http://comprofes.es/videocomunicaciones/la-ense%C3%B1anza-de-la-lengua-espa%C3%B...

Talk to parents, Hispanic heritage month, Evanston IL

Wednesday, November 20th 2013

Esta charla  habla sobre la importancia de promover el uso y la lectura la lengua española en la casa y en la escuela.

Multilingual Chicago

Sunday, November 17th 2013

We live in a time when many U.S. residents harbor "English only" sentiments -- that is, to be considered a good citizen you have to speak English and also stop speaking anything else. Multilingual Chicago is a grassroots organization I belong to that seeks to counter such linguistic hegemony by promoting linguistic diversity in our city, both that brought by immigrants and their descendants as well as by English speakers studying other languages. In 2007, Mayor Daley signed a resolution brought forth by the efforts of this group.

Tags: 
Community

Institute for the Humanities fellowship

Sunday, November 17th 2013

I am very pleased to have received an Institute for the Humanities fellowship during the 2013-2014 school year.  Here is a short article about me and the other fellows.

Tags: 
Media

UIC Oaxaca study abroad for heritage speakers: Student-made recruitment video

Sunday, November 17th 2013

I had the pleasure of accompanying five wonderful students to Oaxaca in summer 2013: Genesis Romo, Caesar Sanchez, Maritza Silverio, Anabel Torres, and Liz Torres.  Liz created this fantastic video along with help from her peers.    

Here is the UIC Oaxaca Study Abroad page.  You can also "Like" our Facebook page.

 

Tags: 
Oaxaca

"Teaching Spanish to heritage speakers: Pedagogical and administrative considerations"

Sunday, November 17th 2013

Why do heritage speakers need a separate Spanish course?  What are some of the linguistic, affective, and academic considerations that educators should keep in mind?  This is the talk I gave at Lake Forest College, IL, in September 2013.

Alternate Video Link: 
https://pindar.lakeforest.edu/movie/potowski.mov

Univisión 30 mayo 2011: Sobre Fulbright en Oaxaca

Sunday, November 17th 2013

Me entrevsitó Paula Gómez de Univisión sobre el proyecto que iba a empezar en Oaxaca en 2011-2012.  Tenía previsto estudiar la enseñanza del español como lengua nativa en México para 'importar' ideas para la enseñanza del español a los hablantes 'de herencia' en los Estados Unidos.  Pero una vez en Oaxaca, cambió totalmente mi enfoque:  Empecé a conocer a muchos jóvenes que se habían criado en Estados Unidos y cuyas familias regresaron a Oaxaca.  Entonces me dediqué a estudiar su (re)incorpración lingüística y escolar.

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Media
Fulbright

TEDx talk April 12, 2013: "No Child Left Monolingual"

Sunday, November 17th 2013

Talk title: "No Child Left Monolingual."

This was a real labor of love. I'd love to see two-way immersion on every corner!

Two small errors:

(1) At 9:58, the production folks accidentally highlighted the two-way immersion program, when I was in fact referring to English Only.

(2) At 10:24, I said "75% Spanish" when I meant "75% English." Probably obvious but just for the record.

Please feel free to share widely and thanks for viewing!

Interview with LAS magazine

Sunday, November 11th 2012

I was interviewed by the magazine of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Tags: 
Media

COMPROFES

Wednesday, November 23rd 2011

The Instituto Cervantes has created a marvellous website where they've uploaded numerous video conferences about various issues related to the teaching of Spanish.  Check it out at http://comprofes.es/programa 

My discussion with Dr. Ofelia García is available at  http://comprofes.es/videocomunicaciones/la-ense%C3%B1anza-de-la-lengua-espa%C3%B1ola-en-los-estados-unidos